A new month and time for more Blood Bowl, of the 2nd Edition variety.

South East Albion Invitational Cup

The second match

I had hoped that November would allow me not only to finish painting my fifth team, but also to complete the small tournament I am running by and for myself. Sadly, life, work, illness, and an overly complicated paint job got in the way. Who would have thought that painting white and yellow would take so long? There is definitely a lesson for me to learn there.

Still, I have made some progress on the fifth Blood Bowl team, and the winter break is coming up, so I should be able to finish this team before the New Year. I have made some purchases—perhaps a little impulsively—to fill out a few more teams that I would like to add to the project. In total, I have about two hundred figures to paint for the twelve teams I have currently set as my goal. Not a lot of figures by big-game standards, but a daunting total for someone with the attention span of a goldfish. Fingers crossed I will actually get round to finishing them all in 2026.

That is probably enough preamble. The second game of the tournament, the Chaos Leg, will see my Skaven team, the Kingsbury Critters, take on my Dark Elf team, the Morien Storm Warriors, in a 90-minute, two-ball match.

Match Report-From Cantwara Entertainment

Good afternoon, sports fans! James Vambraces here, coming to you live on this dark and overcast day. This dreary weather won’t dampen the ardour many fans have for the second game of the South East Albion Invitational Cup! A game that some feared would be cancelled after being delayed for over a month due to technicalities raised by the Storm Warriors’ coach.

It seems the wily Bhraen Klo’gh managed to push the fixture back until the weather improved by claiming that his team was not a Dark Elf side at all, but rather a Sea Elf team—and that, as such, it shouldn’t be facing a Chaotic opponent. A claim the tournament organisers should have dismissed at a glance, simply by looking at the Storm Warriors’ two star player linemen… linewomen… linedaemons—Heartvex and Lustspite.

James Vambraces:

Good afternoon, sports fans. Twenty-five thousand Storm Warriors fans packed into Turner’s Toy Emporium Stadium, and they are in fine voice this afternoon. The ratmen are struggling to make themselves heard already.

Officials are making their way onto the pitch now — and one of them is approaching Exarian with the ball. You can see the hesitation there.

Before we get under way, a quick word for viewers joining us this season. I’m joined once again by Johann Sinjin — my former co-host, who vanished at the end of last season, was later confirmed dead at Runsinane Castle, and has now, somehow, returned to the commentary box.

Johann Sinjin:

Aye. Vanished, died, came back. Runsinane did a number on me, James, but it turns out undeath agrees wi’ the voice.

James:

It is… good to have you back, Johann. Even if the circumstances are unusual.

Now then, looking at this setup, surely the Storm Warriors will want to start cleanly here.

Johann:

Cleanly? James, I wis killed at Runsinane Castle for expectin’ folk tae play clean. Lost ma heid, ma spine, an’ most o’ ma patience in the process.

James:

Yes, well. Your return has been well documented.

Johann:

Aye, documented. Dragged back frae the grave an’ shoved in a commentary box. But Blood Bowl rules huvnae changed since I died. If Exarian disnae try somethin’ unsportin’ here, I’ll haunt the officials again just tae remind them how it’s done.

James:

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. The official finally hands over the ball…

Johann:

Hope’s a fine thing, James. Didnae save me at Runsinane.

James:

And now the second official`s scrambling across the astro-granite towards the Critters’ end — and he does not look comfortable.

Hands shaking as he practically throws the ball at Roland “The Rat” Superstar. Roland’s staring at it… and I’m honestly not sure whether he’s deciding to accept the ball or eat the official.

Johann:

Aye, that’s no indecision, James. That’s instinct. Seen the same look right before I died.

James:

And there he goes — the referee turning tail and sprinting for the sideline!

Johann:

Too late—

James:

—no, he’s made it! Just over the line, that is the sideline!

Johann:

Barely. Another step and we’d be addin’ his name tae the casualty list.

James:

Jim “Bully” Bowen pulls up at the boundary, bellowing after him — and the official is not looking back. That’s about as close as you’ll ever see to a clean hand-off in a Blood Bowl fixture.

Johann:

A poor chase, that. If Bowen’d committed tae it, the ref would be a smear on the astro-granite by now. Pullin’ up at the sideline shows restraint — an’ I dinnae trust it.

James:

Perhaps a wise decision this early on.

Johann:

Wise? Maybe. Disappointin’? Absolutely. Blood Bowl’s no about wisdom, James — it’s about makin’ a statement.

James Vambraces:

The Storm Warriors are concentrating their attack down the right sideline here. That looks very much like Bhraen Klo’gh is sticking to his usual approach.

Simple, solid ground game. No complications. Win the numbers, gain local superiority, and overwhelm the opposition.

Johann Sinjin:

Aye. It’s dull, it’s brutal, an’ it works.

James:

Gloreir and Heartvex are moving up now — looks like they’re going to clear the way for Exarian. 

James Vambraces:

The Critters won’t be so easily dominated. Their star player — and would-be kicker — Skrot Ball is already on the move, dodging his way through the Dark Elf defence.

Speed and agility like that are rare commodities.

Johann Sinjin:

Aye, an’ they’re the only reason he’s still standin’.

James:

He goes in for the block on Exarian — and that’s brave… maybe too brave. Both players down on the astro-granite.

Johann:

That’ll need work. Dodgin’s an art. Blockin’ gets ye killed.

James Vambraces:
Over on the far sideline now — Roland’s lining up a shot at the end zone. He’s got space, but it’s closing fast.
Laithikir and Lustspite are bearing down on him — and they’re not hanging back.

Johann Sinjin:
Aye, that pocket’s collapsin’. He’s no got time.

James:
Roland’s eyes are everywhere, looking for an open receiver. He cocks the arm — he wants this out now—
Oh no! The ball slips! It’s on the turf!

Johann:
That’s panic, James. Ye can smell it.

James:
A fumble when he was so close to scoring. You can see the frustration there.

Johann:
Fast lad, plenty talent — but throwers crumble when ye get in their face. Dark Elves love that. They don’t chase the ball; they chase you.

James:
And that pressure has forced a costly mistake here for the Critters.

James Vambraces:
And it’s a bloody scramble for the ball now — bodies everywhere!
Lustspite comes up with it — but she can’t secure it for long!

Johann Sinjin:

She’s no safe there, James.

James:

Morlocke Angrod is all over her — the Critters’ four-armed mutant getting stuck in immediately.

Johann:

Those wanderin’ paws are a nightmare. Too many hands, no shame.

James:
Even a Daemonette of Slaanesh can’t keep hold of it under that kind of pressure! Morlocke and Roland are wrestling her down to the astro-granite —
And the ball’s loose again! It’s back in play!

Johann:

That’s Blood Bowl for ye. Nobody owns the ball — they’re just borrowin’ it.

James Vambraces:

The Storm Warriors have managed to regain control of the ball, and they’re moving it down the pitch once more.

Gloreir has it now — the blitzer carrying — and Mortharor is right there as his bodyguard.

Johann Sinjin:

That’s a hard escort tae get through, James.

James:

The Critters are scrambling to respond — can they get anyone across in time to stop Gloreir from scoring? 

James Vambraces:

Not if Heartvex has anything to say about it.

The Daemonette is fending off three Skaven — claws clacking loudly in the air — and you can see the hesitation there.

Johann Sinjin:

Aye, no wonder they don’t want tae get any closer. I wouldnae either.

James:

The question now is whether they can break through at all and put an end to this Dark Elf drive.

James Vambraces:

It looks like Roland “The Rat” is going to try his hand at another pass here — but he’s far too focused on what’s in front of him.

Pump fake once… twice — and as he cocks the arm again, Laithikir reaches in and snatches the ball clean out of his hand!

Johann Sinjin:

That’s dreadful.

James:

Another turnover from the Critters’ star player. This has been a terrible outing for Roland so far.

Johann:

Pressure’ll do that. Lustspite’s been in his head since the first drive.

James:

You wonder if he needs a cold shower — or maybe just a long walk away from the pitch. That Daemonette has well and truly got under his skin.

James Vambraces:

The action is really heating up in the middle of the pitch now. Dark Elf blitzers edging closer to the end zone — but the Skaven are swarming after them.

Pardek, one of the Storm Warriors’ catchers, is sprinting up in support — trying to give his teammates an option—

Oh no, he’s stumbled! Something’s caught him on the astro-granite — a loose section of the pitch!

Johann Sinjin:

That’s bad.

James:

He’s down hard — and you could hear that crack around the stadium. Pardek isn’t moving… and his neck is at a very unnatural angle.

Johann:

Aye. That’ll be that.

James:

Yes… it looks like we have our first fatality of the match — and listen to that crowd. They absolutely love it. 

James Vambraces:

And while the spectators are still savouring the first Blood Bowl death of the day, they’ve missed a superb piece of play in midfield.

Ratmek Shake — the plucky Skaven lineman — throwing his entire body into a diving tackle!

Johann Sinjin:

That’s pure desperation.

James:

He clips the legs, brings him down — a last-ditch effort to stop the Storm Warriors from scoring, and it might just have worked.

Johann Sinjin:

Aye. No skill, no finesse — just sacrifice. That’s how ye stay alive an extra turn.

James Vambraces:

But that desperate effort looks to be in vain — Laithikir steps in and shows the Skaven thrower exactly how to throw the deep ball.

He lets it fly — the pigskin soaring high downfield!

Johann Sinjin:

That’s a beauty.

James:

Tholre’kai underneath it — the lineman showing rare hands — plucks it cleanly in stride!

He’s away! No one’s catching him now!

Johann Sinjin:

That’s game.

James:

Into the end zone he goes — touchdown! The whistle blows, and that is the first — and only — score of the match!

James Vambraces:

What a game! The Storm Warriors march on to the final, where they’ll face the Framsburg Firelocks to decide who will be crowned the first South East Albion Invitational Cup champions.

Johann Sinjin:

Aye, an’ if the Firelocks play half as rough as these lot, we’ll need three necromancers an’ a shovel before kickoff.

James:

Stay tuned to your crystal balls, sports fans — we’ll be back shortly with scores and highlights from across the Blood Bowl world—

Johann:

—assuming the highlights arena’s still standin’ by then. I’ve seen less carnage at Runsinane Castle… an’ I wis there when it fell.

James:

Right after a brief word from our sponsors, Turner’s Toy Emporium: purveyors of toys for all ages.

Johann:

Aye. Get the wee ones somethin’ soft an’ cuddly — before they grow up watchin’ this an’ thinkin’ broken necks are a spectator sport.

James:

Don’t go anywhere!

 Time for some more 2nd edition Blood Bowl

South East Albion Invitational Cup

The first match

Blood Bowl definitely seems to have got under my skin: the joy of painting these amazing figures from my youth, the hunt for lost treasures on eBay, and ultimately the pleasure of playing with these wonderful and sometimes wacky rules. I know that for many people the editions after this one have better rules. They are probably right, but I’ve never been drawn to the later editions, as they just don’t seem to capture the essence of Blood Bowl for me. I have similar feelings about Rogue Trader and the later editions of 40K. I’m sure that says more about me than about the consensus, though. I also like a wargame with a good table or two, and Blood Bowl certainly has a few.

After my last game, in which I used only the core rules, I decided I needed a bit more from my matches. This was easily remedied by bringing in most of the rules from the Companion and Star Player books. The only rules I didn’t use were referees, fouls, magical items, magic, and secret weapons. Most of these require one or two referee figures on the table, and I haven’t yet finished repainting my old human referee. Once he’s done, he’ll definitely be making an appearance on the astrogranite. I’ll probably go on a hunt for the dwarf referee as well, so I can field a proper tandem of officials.

Every good game of Blood Bowl needs some sort of tournament to help build the narrative and add interest. I would be remiss if I didn’t try to put my own spin on this venerable game. The first season of the tournament will be very modest: I’ve only painted four teams — two lawful and two chaotic — and as I paint more, the tournament will grow organically. I don’t want it to get too big, as I’m only one person and it would become a bit unmanageable for me to play and write up a large number of games.

The South East Albion Invitational Cup, as I’ve named my tournament, will be divided into the lawful division and the chaotic division. The teams in each division will play each other once, and the winners will go on to a final match of Law vs Chaos to determine the champion. So, in this first “season”, there will only be three matches — a very simple set-up, but one that allows me to field all of my teams.

The first game of the tournament will see my dwarven team, the Barak Varr Buccaneers, take on my human team, the Framsburg Firelocks, in a 90-minute, two-ball match.

Match Report-From Cantwara Entertainment

Welcome once again, sports fans! James Vambraces here, coming to you live from the Alkham Valley, and we are raring to go for the opening clash of the South East Albion Invitational Cup! Now, word filters down from the stands that the tournament sponsors — the fine folk at Turner’s Toy Emporium — are a touch disappointed by the low number of teams throwing their hats into the ring this season.

But honestly? I doubt the average fan gives a jot about that. As long as there’s mayhem on the pitch and bodies flying left, right, and centre, the crowd will be happy enough.

And to guarantee plenty of that, the organisers have decided to shake things up today by rolling out the notorious two-ball rules! That’s right — each team gets a ball from the kick-off, and what they choose to do with it… well, that’s where the fun begins. Chaos, confusion, cunning play — it’s all on the cards, ladies and gents, and we’re moments away from finding out who handles the madness better! 

But listen to that, folks — there’s a real uneasy murmur rolling around the stadium. Word has it that the Firelocks’ coach has made the bold — some might say baffling — decision to leave Clarence “Groin Stabber” Whitfield out of the starting line-up today. Now, from a tactical standpoint, you can sort of see the logic: the poor little chap would be absolutely flattened by the Buccaneers’ front line.

But I’ll admit it — and judging by the grumbles in the stands, I’m not alone — we were all hoping to see the halfling menace out there, helmet spike and all. The lad’s a true maestro of the dirty tackle, a pint-sized whirlwind of questionable legality, and the crowd absolutely loves him for it.

The pace of this game is absolutely relentless — I’m having to push myself just to keep up! Moments like these make me wish my old co-host, Johann Sinjin, were here; the man could really call a match. I warned him not to wander off to Runsinane Castle, of course, but you know Johann — stubborn as ever.

Back on the pitch, the Buccaneers look a little lost when it comes to handling the Firelocks’ receivers and blitzers as they fan out wide. Leave too many men behind, and they’ll struggle to make any headway.

Markus Königsland spots Niklas Balken and Ruprecht “Ace” Windschatten tearing down the flank and fires a crisp short pass to the star receiver. And let me tell you, folks — Balken can keep pace with a Skaven any day of the week. This could get very interesting, very quickly! 

The Buccaneers are certainly getting the upper hand in the melee at the centre of the pitch, but wait — look at Balken go! With sheer speed and nimble footwork, he threads his way through the defence like a needle through cloth and bang — touchdown before anyone even has a chance to lay a hand on him! What a brilliant display of agility from the Firelocks’ star receiver.

As the teams line up again after that lightning-fast touchdown, the Buccaneers’ coach looks ready to tear his beard out in sheer rage! Fans seated nearest his dugout are getting sprayed with spittle as he unleashes a furious tirade on his players.

But it seems his rage-filled encouragement has sparked something in the team. They’re taking the fight to the Firelocks with renewed vigour, bottling them up in the middle — and BOOM! Look at that hit from Durgin Ironspike on Balken! Some of Balken’s teeth are embedded in the astrogranite, folks. And honestly, it’s a joy to see a fellow thrower laying the smackdown on a slippery receiver like that.

The Buccaneers are really struggling to gain any ground in midfield during this series! Dmitri “The Rock” Johannes is absolutely dominating — single-handedly stopping the dwarven advance. This mountain of a man has already flattened three blockers, and the rest of the Buccaneers are now wisely giving him a wide berth. What a colossal presence on the pitch!

The Firelocks have broken through the buccaneers lines again.  This time the pass came from Dunchad Leeseite to Steffen “The Ninja” Schnitzen.  The Ninja has blockers running with him, I don`t see how the Buccaneers can stop him from scoring.

What an absolute disaster for the Buccaneers! Kristof Königsland scoops up Durgin Ironspike and slams him into the astrogranite before he even has a chance to break through with the ball. The Firelocks’ blocker is now stumbling around desperately trying to pick it up, but the ball seems to have a mind of its own — bouncing just out of Königsland’s reach! Unbelievable chaos out there on the pitch, folks!

The roar of the Firelocks supporters is absolutely deafening as Schnitzen barrels into the endzone! Tonight is a night to remember for the lad — he rarely gets a chance to handle the ball when Niklas Balken is on the pitch, and you can see just how much it means to him as he unleashes one of the most energetic endzone celebrations ever witnessed on a Blood Bowl pitch. Schnitzen’s training in the Far East has clearly given him a level of flexibility and flair that’s unprecedented here in Albion — or anywhere else in the Old World!

The Firelocks have done an excellent job of keeping Thorgrim “Flash” Killack under wraps for much of the match, but a player of his calibre simply cannot be denied for the full 90 minutes! A perfectly timed pair of blocks, finally opened a gap — and Flash didn’t waste a second. He tore down the sideline like a whirlwind, legs pumping as fast as they could carry him. This could be the moment that turns the game!

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the pitch, the other ball has somehow ended up in the hands of Jan Anton… or is it Colle Anton? The poor lineman looks utterly confused, completely unsure what to do with it — but wait! A swift slap around the head from Dmitri “The Rock” Johannes sends him hurtling down the field, charging straight for the correct endzone. Chaos, confusion, and brilliance all in one play, entertainment at its best!

The Buccaneers’ fans are absolutely screaming for Killack as he slips past the ogre blitzer, Old Tom! His face is bright red, and you can practically hear the sound of his laboured breathing from the touchlines. Every ounce of effort, every sprint, every desperate push — and yet, heartbreakingly, it’s all for nothing. The final whistle blows before he can reach the endzone. What a cruel, cruel twist at the death of the match!

And there it is, folks! The Framsburg Firelocks have taken the match 2-0 and will be advancing to the final of the South East Albion Invitational Cup! What a performance from the lads, combining skill, speed, and just a touch of chaos to see off the Buccaneers.

Stay tuned on your crystal balls, sports fans — we’ll be bringing you scores and highlights from around the Blood Bowl world right after a short commercial break from our sponsors, Turner’s Toy Emporium, purveyors of toys for all ages. Don’t go anywhere!

My Fourth Blood Bowl Team

 The Framsburg Firelocks

One of the best things about digging through my box of Blood Bowl figures is the memories it brings back. When I first started playing Blood Bowl, my team of choice was always a human team. The main reason for this was the Blood Bowl star player "Big" Gunn Schonn. I was really taken by his paint scheme, and back in the '80s, I tried to replicate it using enamel paints.

Looking back now, I realise that, while my efforts were impressive for a fifteen-year-old, they don't quite measure up to my current standards. I spent some time debating whether I should try to replicate the paint scheme again, but ultimately decided against it. A design with multiple colours and intricate details would take too much time, and I was determined to have a full team painted within a month.

Having decided on a new paint scheme, I began to look around for some ideas. Inspiration can come from many places, and in this case, it came from White Dwarf 98 and the Mentor Legion. I have always liked the Mentor Legion as they appeared in those days, so the choice was made for me. Green and white became the colours of choice for the uniform.

I just managed to complete the Framsburg Firelocks within October — the basing was finished on the 31st. Part of the delay was my own doing: I wanted to give the team plenty of options, which added some extra time, and stripping the enamel paint from the metal miniatures took longer than I expected. Still, I managed to meet my deadline, and these Mark Copplestone sculpts came out really well.

Returning to the halcyon days of a bygone era-A Game of 2nd edition Blood Bowl

 Playing like its 1988

A Game of 2nd edition Blood Bowl

Last month I brought you a game of 1st edition, which I enjoyed with all of its idiosyncrasies.  However, the version of Blood Bowl I really wanted to play was 2nd edition.  After scouring eBay for a reasonably priced copy, and failing to find one, I contacted my brother and sorted out getting my copy sent over from the UK.  I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly Royal Mail was able to get my childhood treasure over to me.  When it arrived, Sunday, 19th October, a day that I will long remember, I unpacked it eagerly, and felt like a child on Christmas day again.

The box has seen better days, but the art on the lid is still as glorious as the first time that I beheld it.  I did have to add a bit more Sellotape to keep it from falling apart, though.  Still the game is not far off of forty years old and was well loved back in the day, so what more could you really expect?  

The rules came back to me pretty quickly, but for the first game I thought it would be better to stick to the rules in the main rulebook.  I`ll definitely add many of the rules from the Companion, and the Star Player books once I`m comfortable with the basic rules.  

I decided to pit my dwarven team, the Barak Varr Buccaneers, against my skaven team, the Kingsbury Critters, in 90-minute match.

Match Report-From Cantwara Entertainment

Hello, sports fans! James Vambraces here, bringing you the highlights from this pre-tournament clash between the Barak Varr Buccaneers and the Kingsbury Critters. Both teams have made the trek to Alkham Valley for the South East Albion Invitational Cup, and while waiting for the other challengers, their coaches decided to put their squads to the test in this pre-tournament showdown.

The Critters won the toss and will start with the ball. You can bet these ratmen are looking to strike fast and often in this 90-minute battle. On the other side, the Buccaneers will likely try to grind them down with their signature hard-hitting style. It’s set to be a thrilling matchup!

The Critters hand the ball straight to their star thrower, Roland “The Rat” Superstar! His scrambling style and lightning-quick passes have dazzled in the Albion minor leagues—but can he make the jump to the middle tier of Blood Bowl? Only time will tell, but right now, this match is his chance to prove to all of Albion that he belongs at this level!

The Buccaneers are rolling out their jumbo package—six blockers, four blitzers, and two linemen! They’re clearly gunning to wreck the more skilled Skaven players, and all eyes are on their lightning-fast blitzer, Thorgrim “Flash” Killack. Can anyone stop him once he hits top speed?

The ratmen are streaming down the field! Their linemen are locking horns with the stronger dwarves in the centre, while the catchers and blitzers split left and right, weaving through the chaos. Can the Buccaneers hold them off, or are the Critters about to strike quickly?

The Buccaneers are not holding back! Their reaction to the Critters’ sweep? Smashing as many ratmen as they can! Across the field, the Skaven are hitting the astrogranite hard—crash after crash—but wait! One of the receivers slips past a diving blitzer! That Skaven agility is just too much for the dwarves to handle—he’s still on his feet and racing forward!

Roland “The Rat” isn’t about to let this one slip! He spots the blitzer charging straight at him, ducks, and fires a lightning-quick pass to the open receiver in the end zone. Thwack! The ball lands cleanly in his gloves—what a catch! And just like that, the Critters are up by one!

And the Buccaneers have the ball! They’re looking to strike fast, and it’s handed straight to “Flash” as a loose cage forms around him. You can hear the thunder of the dwarves’ iron-shod boots echoing through the stadium—tension building with every step!

I can see the Critters’ coach snickering as he watches the dwarven formation. He can’t believe his luck—there’s no way the dwarves can break through with a loose rolling cage! His squeaky voice barks out orders, and the ratmen snap into action like a well-oiled machine. The blitzers swing around the edge of the formation and level “Flash” before he even knows what’s happening! The crowd gasps—some fans are still wincing from that crushing hit on the star player!

The ball’s bouncing around like it’s got a mind of its own! The Buccaneers’ players are scrambling—arms and beards everywhere—trying to get a handle on it! But wait—out of nowhere, a flash of red! One of the Critters dives in and snatches it clean from under the dwarves’ noses! He’s off—cutting through the field like lightning! It’s Tee Mee “The Mallet,” the new blitzer for the Critters—charging for the line—and he’s in! Touchdown Critters!

After that touchdown, the Buccaneers waste no time—ball’s back in the hands of Flash! He’s off, powering downfield, churning up puffs of dust from the astrogranite with every step! The Critters’ defence is hanging by a thread—just a few ratmen left trying to slow that dwarven wall! But the Buccaneers’ juggernaut just keeps rolling! Flash is through—he’s across the line—but wait, the whistle’s blown! Time’s up! Too late for the score, and the Critters take it—two touchdowns to one!

Playing like it`s 1986-A Game of 1st edition Blood Bowl

Playing like it`s 1986

A Game of 1st edition Blood Bowl

Blood Bowl is a game that has a special place in my heart.  It all started in the mid 80s with me, like many British children at the time, becoming a bit of an American football fan.  I went as far as to play wide receiver in a junior full contact team, the Folkestone Wolverines.  Sadly the team was marred in controversy - the headcoach was caught fielding ineligable players and there was some talk of financial irregularities.  With that kind of background, the Wolverines will have to reappear as a goblin team in the future.  That is something to consider. 

Anyway, I played my first game of Blood Bowl around 1989, after I’d saved up my paper round money to buy the 2nd edition big box set with that wonderful astrogranite pitch. I’d love to be playing with this treasure from my childhood, but it’s currently languishing at my brother’s house in the UK. Luckily, he sent me a copy of 1st edition Blood Bowl along with the Death Zone expansion a while back, so I figured I’d give this venerable old gent a go.

1st edition Blood Bowl has more in common with Warhammer Fantasy Battle than with the later editions of Blood Bowl. This actually made the game pretty easy for me to pick up, since I’ve played more than my fair share of WFB. For my first game, I decided to keep things simple and only use the basic rules. I’m looking forward to adding some of the optional rules from Death Zone once I feel comfortable with the game.

I’ve got a lot of teams to choose from—1st edition uses standees—so rather than spending too long deciding, I just grabbed two at random from the box. The two teams facing off were a Half-Orc team, The Hellraisers, and a Dwarf team, Dumezil’s Miners.

Gameplay in 1st edition is broken into phases, with the active player going through all of them before the inactive player takes over. The phases are movement, throwing and kicking, tackling, and reserve movement—although, oddly, the rulebook talks about five phases in a turn, but I could only find four. As I mentioned earlier, these are the same as in older editions of WFB. For example, in the throwing and kicking phase you roll against the throwing skill rather than the bow skill in WFB. Likewise, attacking is resolved using combat skill rather than weapon skill.

The winner of a game of 1st edition (and 2nd edition, for that matter) is the first person to score three touchdowns. This can make the game run fairly long, but since I’m playing solo it’s not really an issue for me.

Overall, the gameplay of 1st edition isn’t that difficult, and it’s actually a lot of fun. But there is one issue worth mentioning: the pitch is too small for 11 players. There isn’t much room for the more agile teams to dodge around the bashier ones. The easy fix is to play with fewer players on the pitch. In my next game, I’ll limit the number of players on the field to 9, and the team size to 13. If that doesn’t work, I’ll tweak it a bit more until I’m happy with the gameplay.

Dumezil’s Miners Pulverise The Hellraisers in Dominant Display

Dumezil’s Miners dominated the game with their grinding style. Their plan was simple: keep the ball as long as possible and pulverise The Hellraisers in the dirt. It worked perfectly. Despite the Half-Orcs’ attempts to launch a passing game, the dwarves proved unstoppable. The Hellraisers’ team apothecary will need a miracle to get them back on their feet.

Final score

        

Game statistics

Highlights

The Hellraisers came out of the gates strong. They rushed for the ball, and after a quick scamper, they threw a pass for a touchdown. Their fans thought they were in for a good game.

The Miners responded to the score by gathering up the ball and slowly moving towards the Hellraisers’ endzone. The slow pace of the ball carrier allowed the rest of his team to take out some of their aggression on the Half-Orcs.

The Hellraisers tried to put up some defense, but the skill, toughness, and armour of the dwarves made their task almost impossible. Only a concerted team effort allowed them to make any impact on the Miners.

As the game went on, fewer and fewer Half-Orcs were able to take the field.

After an extended beating of the Hellraisers, the Miners finally decided to run the ball into the end zone.

The final play for the Hellraisers came as they tried for a third score and victory. Their hopes were crushed by the sheer number of dwarves racing towards them. The coach probably should have thrown in the towel earlier.